


That Tiny Instant Of All Eternity

by tiasworld93



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Everyone Gets A Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family, Fluff, Gen, Hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiasworld93/pseuds/tiasworld93
Summary: Every character needs a hug, and Kitty is going to make sure they all get one. A series of hug snippets.
Comments: 47
Kudos: 95





	1. Mary, Thomas, Pat

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to:   
> \- the Discord chat, for inadvertently prompting this with the comment "Kitty just needs to hug everyone"  
> \- Anna, for beta-ing 
> 
> PLEASE NOTE: This fic contains tiny spoilers for some series 2 episodes. They're 'blink and you'll miss it' references for the most part, but I've marked them at the start of each chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers: very minor spoilers in Mary's section for 2x01 and 2x03

# Mary

“A, B, C, D, E…” Mary’s voice faded as Kitty ran through the house looking for a good hiding place. Not the library, especially not with Julian and Robin who would certainly give her away. She ran past the kitchen and up the stairs, racing past bedrooms as fast as she could manage. Aha! That room was still empty, and had a large wardrobe- perfect.

She phased through the wall and straight into the wardrobe. They’d been playing for a while now, so she’s been starting to run out of new places to hide- and while the alphabet was a good way to practice, it didn’t give much hiding time. Now she had a moment to (unnecessarily) catch her breath and listen eagerly.

It took some time, and for a while she wondered if she would beat her record this time. But Mary usually found her, it didn’t take very long. Oh, there she was, down the corridor!  
Kitty pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles. Breathless minutes passed as she waited ear pressed to (and occasionally through) the door. As Mary’s light steps made it along the corridor, Kitty’s giggles almost became hiccups, until finally a hand appeared through the wardrobe.

“I founds you.”  
Kitty jumped out.

“Oh you did! You’re so good at this!” She hugged Mary, pulling her into a firm embrace.

“Oh we are good at this. Are you ready to hide again?”

“I reckons I is.”

“Go! A, B, C, D…”

# Thomas

“O’er golden grasses, a sunset sky,  
And hand in hand stand you and I.”

He paused to take a breath, and Kitty broke in.

“Oh Thomas, that was beautiful!”

He looked at her for a long moment, clearly surprised.

“Ah, I haven’t finished yet, that was just the first 7 verses.”

“I think it’s lovely, just as it is. Some of my favourite poems are shorter, you know.”

“I suppose. But I didn’t get into the tale of the two lovers.”

“I thought you did? And it was so romantic! It was so lovely just as it is”

“Well then, thank you.”

Kitty hugged him, and enjoyed the sound of his spluttering for a moment. She squeezed a little tighter before letting him go.

“Come on, let’s see where the others are, it’s such a lovely day.”  
Allowing no room for argument, she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him in the direction of the garden.

# Pat

It has been long enough that it doesn’t sting most days, but a passing comment about his marriage had dug deep. The others are occupied with various activities around the house, so the common room is quiet as Pat takes a seat by the window.

However sure he is that Carol loved him once, it becomes hard to shift the niggling voice in his head.

“Unwanted… annoying… unloved… ridiculous”

He’s pressing his palms into his temples as though he might push the thoughts right out of his head, when the rustle of many layers of fabric joins him at the window.

An arm reaches around his shoulders, and he turns inward, letting his head fall to Kitty’s shoulder. She gently rubs circles onto his back, and with it rubs away the worst thoughts, at least for now. He is loved, here, in this moment.


	2. Julian, Alison, Humphrey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers: Humphrey's section contains spoilers for 2x06

# Julian

It was an odd thing, to contemplate the spot where one had died. He couldn’t say he entirely regretted it, there were far worse ways to go, after all. Not ideal for Margot’s reputation of course, but she had risen above, or so said Goggle. Wonderful girl, she’d managed as always.

Still, bit embarrassing, especially miscalculating his doses like that, no wonder the old ticker had given out in the excitement. Shame too, to spend the afterlife sans trousers, though at least he didn’t feel the cold. Good for the faces on the prudes though, when he flashed some extra… thigh.

“Oh, hello Julian.”  
He must be getting old if he hadn’t noticed Kitty coming in. He waved a hand vaguely at her.

“Robin was looking for you. I think he said checkmate in 7?”  
Julian snorted. Like hell.

“Um, what are you looking at? Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, fine. I died right there, you know? Would have been in my 70s by now. Might have wangled Father of the House, if my constituents had wanted to keep me… Margot’s still going you know? Probably still has magnificent-- “

He was cut off by a rapid squeeze around his midsection.

He gasped faintly for breath as Kitty backed away, disappearing through the wall with the reminder that “Robin still thinks he’s going to beat you!”  
Well. Better go and show the great unwashed what he’s made of, then.

# Alison

Mike is out for the night with his mates, so she’d taken the opportunity to watch the romance film he wasn’t interested in seeing (more of a romcom guy). Now Alison could see the pitfall she’d ignored, as a heartbreaking twist of plot left her rubbing at her eyes and grasping for a tissue.

She had no idea that several of her incorporeal housemates were gathered outside the bedroom in concern. It was Kitty who slid through the door with a quiet but cheery, “Knock knock”.  
She explained that she had come as the cheerer-upper, and was there anything she could do to help?

“It’s just a film Kitty, it had a bit of a sad bit. Normally Mike would give me a hug, but he’s out, obviously.”

“Oh, I can’t give you a hug… But maybe I can sit with you?”  
A teary smile and nod was acquiescence, and she carefully sat herself on the bed only inches away.

“So who’s that lady? I like her outfit!”

“That’s Penelope, her brother went off to war…”

# Humphrey

He’s so rarely reunited with his body, and so frequently carried, that he’s become used to the limited sensations available to him. Today he’s been regaling young Kitty with the many foods served at his wedding, carefully skirting around the fixed smile of his bride.

Something must have leaked through in his tone because, deliberately telegraphing her moves, Kitty picks him up and cradles him into her neck. It’s nice, if odd, to only feel the pressure on his cheek and the back of his head.

Later she takes him on the never ending quest to reunite his pieces. Once, after a few near misses, he’s joined together again she carefully pulls him close for a gentle embrace. The instinct to hug back is strong and he doesn’t deny it.

Inevitably, it’s not long before he’s again on the floor and shouting at his dratted limbs, but the memory of that sensation stays longer.


	3. Robin, Fanny, The Captain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers: Fanny's section contains spoilers for 2x01

# Robin

The grass to the deer, the deer hunted, the flesh consumed, the death of a person only to be absorbed by the earth, feeding the grass. The man, left to watch as the fields grew, the people changed, and the buildings sprang up and came down again. These were the facts of life and death, then, as Robin knew them. He’d seen them all before they joined him, but he also saw life everywhere. The birds, the dogs, even the worms. These, he had watched over.

He was sharing his philosophy, his role as watcher over the land with Kitty, after she’d asked what he was watching from the fence. She looped her arms around him, and for long moments they continued to watch the birds swooping through the sky.

# Fanny

The hero has saved the day, rescued fair maiden, and they are locked in passionate embrace. Kitty exclaims in delight that she guessed the ending, and the terrible cad of a villain didn’t succeed in his dastardly plan.

Fanny, having finally deigned to admit to reading along and sitting beside Kitty, is surprised by a sudden squeeze of excited arms and giggles. 

It lasts only moments, and she is left blinking and unexpectedly warmed as Kitty skips off to tell others of the happy ending.

# The Captain

“The thing is, Katherine, you can’t force somebody to like you or to be your friend. You have to be yourself, but respect their space. If you take a tank straight into someone’s territory then they’ll think you’re the enemy, not an ally. You need to find something mutually beneficial to build that alliance.”  
Catching her increasingly quizzical expression, he added,

“Don’t push too hard, or you’ll risk pushing her away. I know you love Alison, so you must respect what she asks of you.”

“But she’s annoyed with me! What if she never likes me ever again?”

“Pish. You all get annoyed with this old walrus from time to time, but I like to think we’re still friends, are we not? Young Alison will come around, I’m sure.”  
He’s startled then by a lot of ruffle, hair, and feather appearing in his vision, as Kitty presses her face into his shoulder.

“Oh thank you, Captain. I do love Alison, and I will respect her, I promise, and I’m sorry for what we said, I shouldn’t have been mean, and…”  
The rest is lost, muffled into his uniform. He pauses before bringing up a hand to gingerly pat her on the back.

“Ahem. There, there, no harm done. Now, go on, go and apologise to Alison, then find something else to do.”  
He is, of course, imagining that he feels colder as she pulls away and rises to her feet.

As she turns, she pauses, then swiftly leans down to kiss gently at his cheek.

“Thank you, Captain”, she says, before disappearing from the room. He doesn’t move for a long moment, before raising his hand to his cheek.  
Well then. Things to do.


	4. Kitty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Kitty gets her turn :) 
> 
> My apologies for the shifts in tenses between sections. It sort of happened that way, and seemed to lose something when I tried to unify it!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been reading this, I really appreciate it! And special thanks to Anna for beta-ing.
> 
> Spoilers: Contains 'blink and you'll miss it' references to things in series 2 episodes, but I believe only from 1-5 (those aired so far).

# Kitty

“Right team. As you know, it’s Kitty’s death day tomorrow and that’s why she’s been quieter than usual. We need to be kind and do the little things - no, Julian- to help her have an okay day. Alright. Now, if someone can find her, we’ll start Food Club.”  
With that, Pat sat back down, hoping at least that he could return some joy to Kitty’s week.

*****

Later, as everyone drifted off, Thomas paused, then tugged gently on Kitty’s hand. When she stopped, he stood there awkwardly for several long moments before he pulled her gently into an embrace. It wasn’t entirely comfortable, the hug of someone who didn’t know what to do with his limbs.

“What’s this for?”

“Just, well, just for being you.”  
She pulled back to look at his face, seemed to register that he was serious, and hugged him back firmly.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

*****

Over the following day, they all found their moments. When Kitty slumps down for the latest page of their book, Fanny doesn’t comment but simply gives her a gentle squeeze on the arm. She leaves her hand there whilst they read, and doesn’t move until Kitty does.

*****

Kitty pauses briefly by the chessboard, watches Robin and Julian play. She’s surprised when Robin’’s hand sneaks into hers and squeezes, so she takes a seat between them round the table. She’s never really understood chess, but she’ll watch, and half the fun is listening to them. In a pause whilst Robin is thinking, Julian stretches then drops an arm around her shoulders. His hand pats at her back before he pulls away.

*****

Later, Mary cajoles all of them into a house-wide game of hide and seek, to varying degrees of enthusiasm. Despite him volunteering, no-one is keen to let Julian go first as seeker- they’re all worried he’d sit down and leave them hiding pointlessly.  
Pat suggests that Kitty go first, “as the expert”, and they all scatter as she begins to count.

She quickly finds Fanny, who made the minimal effort of standing behind a door. Shortly after that she finds Julian, who hadn't gone much further and was behind a long curtain. As she makes her way through the house, she soon finds Thomas (under Alison’s bed), the Captain (in a wardrobe), and Pat (in the linen closet). Most of them drift off back to the common room once they’re found, but Pat detours to reunite Humphrey again, pointing him in Kitty’s direction.

She’s skipping along to the next room, when she runs into Humphrey in the corridor. He grabs rapidly at his head, catching it as it falls.

“Sorry, Humphrey!”

“Oh, no harm done.” He shifts his head into one hand, and loops his other arm around her briefly, squeezing her shoulders.

He steps back, and makes the best bow possible when holding your own cranium. Kitty giggles and curtseys back. He steps to one side and gestures approximately in the direction she was heading.

“My lady.”

Kitty dips again, and heads into the next room to continue her search.

*****  
She doesn’t so much find Robin, as shriek with mingled surprise and delight when jumps at her through a wall, and he’s still chortling as he disappears off to the common room.

The only person left is Mary, but Kitty knows her favourite hiding places by now. She’s behind a trunk in one of the more fragile parts of the house, and laughs as Kitty finds her.

“Am I’s the last?”

“You are, well done indeed!”

“T’was good hidings and good seekings. Let’s find the others.”  
She tucks her hand into Kitty’s and their hands wing as they meander back in the direction of the common room. 

Mary stops them just outside the room, and holds her arms open.

“I knows it's a hard day. Come ‘ere.”

Kitty does, and they cling together for several long moments. When Kitty pulls away, her smile is almost back to its usual radiance.

“Ready? I thinks it be your turn to choose the film.”

“Oh, goody!”

*****

Kitty was all prepared to choose Love Actually for the seventh time, when Alison surprised her.

“I’ve got you a new film, actually, Kitty. It has Hugh Grant in, from Love Actually, and I think you’ll love it.”  
Alison gave her a smile. She wasn’t naturally much of a talker for stuff like this, but the occasion called for it.

“I love doing stuff for my friends, and you are a wonderful friend.”  
With that, they settled themselves around the room for Notting Hill.

In a tense moment, Kitty stiffened and Pat, sat next to her, took her hand, letting her squeeze through her feelings. 

At the end, as Kitty simultaneously is smiling and teary, Pat pulls her into him, her head falling onto his shoulder.

“Are you alright Kitty?”

“Oh yes, what an excellent story! I really loved…”  
She gushed for several moments about beautiful people and longing looks, before going quiet.

“Sometimes my death day is very sad, but I’m glad I spent today with all of you.”

“Good. That was what we were hoping for.”

Pat pulled away, stood stretched out his arms and beckoned. Kitty rapidly stood and folded herself into his embrace. For several long moments, the room was quiet and Kitty just revelled in the warmth of Pat’s sturdiness.

Everyone began to shuffle around them, and Kitty reluctantly stood back. Alison and Mike wished them a good night, heading to bed.  
As they left the room, the Captain cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Is there anything that you would like to finish your day?”  
Kitty paused, then smiled.

“I think a walk under the stars,” she glanced around, “if you’ll join me?”

There were a few nods around the room, and the Captain snapped his heels to attention. He extended an elbow.

“Miss Katherine, may I have the honour of this turn around the grounds?”  
Kitty giggled, and dipped a brief curtesy.

“Why Captain, you may.”  
She took his arm, and they turned towards the door. The others followed, and as they headed into the moonlight, the Captain placed his spare hand over hers, and squeezed lightly.

Everyone paused for a moment in front of the house, staring at the sky, and several of them placed a hand on Kitty’s shoulders and arm.

The moment fell apart when Robin asserted a moonah fact from a YouTube binge, and rapidly fell into an argument with Pat, Julian egging them both on.  
The Captain rolled his eyes and turned to smile wryly at Kitty, who giggled in response.

Definitely a better death day than any other so far.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from The Garden, a poem by Jacques Prévert, translated by Michael Benedikt. 
> 
> Millions and millions of years  
> Would still not give me half enough time  
> To describe  
> That tiny instant of all eternity  
> When you put your arms around me  
> And I put my arms around you  
> One morning in the cold winter light  
> In the Parc Montsouris in Paris  
> In Paris  
> On this earth of ours  
> This earth which is a star.


End file.
